Oddities and Photo Tour at the Ocean Course - Kiawah

[Bryan Izatt]

Jerry,

This view from the back tee at 14?

[Bryan Izatt]

The second hole is one of the better par 5's that I have played anywhere.  Starting with a butt puckering tee shot with Cape Hole characteristics, this hole will grab your attention after the relatively straight forward first.  This hole requires a solidly struck shot of 200 to 280 yards from the tips to make the carry, and a commitment to a line.  Even from the middle tee, it is a daunting carry this early in the round.



The second shot requires some strategizing about how to deal with the crossing hazard.  Bailing too far right off the tee may make carrying it on your second problematic.  Laying up leaves a manageable distance but a bad angle to the elevated green.  Carrying the hazard up the left fairway leaves a wedge shot to the green with a good angle.  Attacking the green in two, for the long hitters, will require a long carry over a nest of bunkers.  Skipping through the green can lead to difficult lies.

The scond shot from the left side.




The second shot landing area from closer in.




The green complex from the ideal second shot landing area.




The fronting bunker and the green.

[Matt Kardash]

I have now decided after seeing that photo of the tee shot on #2 that I love the look of the new grass-faced bunkers. That bunker looks awesome off the tee. Such a nice sharp line.

[Jerry Kluger]

Bryan: Thanks for posting that photo of #14.  I was lucky enough to tour the OC with Ran and Pete Dye's assistant when the course was being renovated and we stood there for a long time just looking out at the ocean.  I hadn't seen the course since they put the grass face on the left bunker and I think it is just as good as it was while at the same time avoids an awful situation.

[Bryan Izatt]

Jerry,

You're welcome. 

Seems to me that the sandy area over there was originally scrubby waste area that was then formalized into a more traditional bunker, but with the sand face at the back, and that has now been grassed in on the face.  The evolution has been remarkable over 20 years.  I guess I liked the rugged natural look of the original.  Functionally, I guess that it is more fair now.  The look just takes some getting used to for me.

 

[Bryan Izatt]

The third hole continues the trek away from the clubhouse with a short par 4.  I wonder if the PGA might move the tee up on this one to make it a possible drivable hole.

The tee shot is to an angled fairway with a diagonal ridge across it.  The most intelligent shot is a layup to a good yardage.  (The tees are off to the left of the picture)




The second shot is framed by two scraggly trees that are a visual distraction, but not really in play.  Unless, of course, you bomb a driver and get too close.




From closer in the real challenge of the hole is more obvious - a small table top green with 6 to 8' closely mowed drop offs on all sides.  Recovery from off the greens allows many options.




A look at the green from behind.

[Bryan Izatt]

The fourth is a long par 4 that continues away from the clubhouse.  The tees are arrayed left to right and provide distinctly different looks as you move further back.  The crossing hazard is at a length that most, if playing the right tees will have to consider whether it is necessary to lay up slightly.  From the further back (more right) tees the fairway bunkers are more of a consideration.  There is a narrow strip right of the bunkers for those daring to take the shortest, most direct route to the green.




From the middle tees, the driving area looks pretty wide open befitting a long par 4.  The bunkers right are reachable, but easily avoided.




The second shot from the left side is longer, but opens up the green.




From closer in the contouring of the green is more evident.   There is some fair movement in the green, especially at the 11 stimp reading they claim for everyday play.

[Matt Kardash]

The 3rd hole really is one of the great short par 4s. After playing the raised 2nd and 3rd greens it's a nice change of pace to play to the low profile 4th green.

I have always thought that the two greenside bunkers to the right of the 4th seem to be the most atypical Dye bunkers I have ever seen. They are probably the most "boring" looking and bland bunkers I have ever seen him build. Not that it is a bad thing, but definitley out of character with his usual style.

[Mike Vegis @ Kiawah]

The third hole continues the trek away from the clubhouse with a short par 4.  I wonder if the PGA might move the tee up on this one to make it a possible drivable hole.

The tee shot is to an angled fairway with a diagonal ridge across it.  The most intelligent shot is a layup to a good yardage.  (The tees are off to the left of the picture)




The second shot is framed by two scraggly trees that are a visual distraction, but not really in play.  Unless, of course, you bomb a driver and get too close.




From closer in the real challenge of the hole is more obvious - a small table top green with 6 to 8' closely mowed drop offs on all sides.  Recovery from off the greens allows many options.




A look at the green from behind.

Actually, No. 12 will be the drivable par 4.  We've created another set of tees in front of of the forward tees so it can be set at between 300 and 388.  What makes it challenging is that there are small pot bunkers on the left side around 275 and a fairway that slopes left to right toward the water.  The hole really narrows up the closer to the green you get...

[Jerry Kluger]

It is hard to see from the photos how small and elevated the third green is and I could not imagine even a top player trying to run a ball up that hill onto the green.  Chipping up to it is far more difficult than hitting a full wedge. 

From the tees further back on the fourth you cannot see the landing area and the new bunkers stick up so you can see where you are going and what to try to avoid.  You usually hit the ball further left than needed and left you with a much longer second shot.

[Howard Riefs]

It is hard to see from the photos how small and elevated the third green is and I could not imagine even a top player trying to run a ball up that hill onto the green.  Chipping up to it is far more difficult than hitting a full wedge.  

Definitely a small, tabletop green. And memorable for my two plays at Ocean Course.

A few years ago, my approach on #3 rolled off the back of the green. I attempted to chip back on -- only to end up with a game of ping-pong as the ball rolled off the front. Last year, faced with the same play, I definitely used putter, making it a much easier for a par save.

[jonathan_becker]

It is hard to see from the photos how small and elevated the third green is and I could not imagine even a top player trying to run a ball up that hill onto the green.  Chipping up to it is far more difficult than hitting a full wedge.  

Definitely a small, tabletop green. And memorable for my two plays at Ocean Course.

 

In my mind, the green on #3 is like hitting an approach towards a second story building!  Very, very difficult.

In regards to the tour, thanks, Bryan.  For myself, holes 2-5 at the Ocean Course are about as good as golf can get.  It's easily my favorite stretch on the course.

[Bryan Izatt]

Mike,

Thanks for the insight.  I wouldn't have thought of 12 as a candidate for the drivable par 4.  The 6th and 3rd came to mind, but there is probably too much risk at 3rd and not enough at the 6th.

[Bryan Izatt]

The 5th is the first of the par 3's and turns at right angles to the preceding four holes.  On windy days this can add to the confusion in club selection.

The green is 60 yards long and set at an angle to the tee.  You must get the distance correct as well as the line.  Anything pulled will come up short in the waste area.  Anything pushed will be too long.

The waste area and embankment up to the green is intimidating.  The small pot bunker short of the green gives a visual miscue.

The waste area is hard packed, which provides a different sand shot than I'm used to.  The caddie's advice was to take a couple of practice swings and judge the distance by how far the sand went onto the green.  Worked for me.  Got it up to 5 feet and made the putt to save par.

Given a cross wind and a back tee at about 220 yards, this hole should give the PGA players a challenge.  Not big numbers, but not easy birdie either.






   

[Bryan Izatt]

The 6th turns fully back toward the clubhouse and begins a stretch of eight holes playing generally in the same direction.  This routing is reminiscent of Scottish links course that play generally out and back.  

It is a hole that could be a short par 4 of 330 yards or a long one of 480 yards depending on the tee location.  There is a great deal of elasticity in the teeing boxes as is evident in the aerial view.  




This hole was not memorable based on my recent play.  The landing area seemed generous although there was an interesting bank on the left side that looked like it might throw the ball off to the right.  The trees and waste area right seemed to be the only troublesome place.  Too long off the tee and right might get you an unplayable lie in the marram grass.




The second shot looks fairly benign.




The green, seen here from the right side, has drop offs around most of it and a ridge running across the green from about the middle left side.

[Matt Kardash]

The 6th is in my mind the least memorable hole on the course. As much as Dye can be over the top he does like to throw in at least one of two plain holes on a golf course to give the golfer a breather. This is definitley one of them.

[Wade Whitehead]

How similar is the fifth green to the seventeenth at Pebble?

WW

[Bryan Izatt]

Walt,

Not very.  A full figured girl vs a wasp-waisted anorexic girl.

[Bryan Izatt]

The 7th continues on the way back to the clubhouse and is a short par 5.  Will they turn it into a par 4 for the PGA?

The look from the tee is wide open, enticing the golfer left with no apparent issue.  The right side waste area is likely just long enough to capture most that would try to carry it.  From the tips the carry is about 320 yards. 




Having favored the left side off the tee, the second shot attacking the green is from a difficult angle to a narrow fairway.  It is easy to have the ball run off the fairway down left into, and even across the waste area.






Missing short left in the waste area, or worse, just in the junk left of that, leaves a delicate shot to an elevated and shallow green.  Perhaps laying back in the fairway would be a better option.  Ought to be interesting watching the pros go at this hole.




The back left pin position is a real sucker pin position.  Missing long is equally bad as missing left.  Getting the ball from the camera position to this hole was an (unsuccessful) adventure. 

[Joe Bausch]

Those enjoying this tour of the OC might also want to see a thread of mine from this time last year:

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,47005.0.html

It has hole diagrams and some large green aerials provided by Mike Vegis.

[Bryan Izatt]

Joe,

Thanks for the link.  The hole diagrams are neat, and the pictures are, as always, good.  Looks like you had a glorious day there too.  I wonder if we'll be able to identify any modifications over the last year from the two sets of pictures?

[Bryan Izatt]

The 8th is a medium length par three that continues the trek to the south west.

This is yet another table top green with sharp drop offs.  The back of the green runs away quite significantly.  Trying to get to a back pin poistion in firm and fast conditions, especially with a tail wind would be a challenge.




The green from behind.

[Bryan Izatt]

The 9th continues generally south west and is a long par 4 to finish the nine.  It is a slight dogleg left with the ubiquitous waste area on the inside and a center-line bunker in the fairway.  Interestingly, the center bunker is out of reach off the tee for almost everybody playing from appropriate tees.  Although not obvious from the ground, the indentation of the waste areas into the fairway are nicely shaped as breakers emulating the nearby ocean.




The tee shot entices you to the safer looking right side.  The second shot approach is more difficult from the right side.  The pot bunker is in your mind, but is really out of reach.  The picture is skewed to the left, so there is more room out to the right that is cut off in the picture.




The usually long second shot faces a lot of rumpled ground short of the green and a huge knob on the right front of the green.  Running the ball in to the left side should be possible, but the ground movement could play havoc with it.   Long right is a deep depression that is to be avoided at all costs according to the caddie.  The center-line pot bunker provides a visual distraction on the right side, but is really not in play.




An interesting feature of the hole are the waste area indentations.  On shots pulled left you could be trapped in some very difficult lies.  Despite the rake showing here, all sand areas are supposedly played as waste areas.  You can ground your club in any bunker.  Sort of the opposite of Whistling Straits. 




A view of the green from back left showing some of the movement in the green.

[Bryan Izatt]

The 10th tee, as has been noted, is a long way from the 9th green, with courtesy carts transporting the walkers.  The back nine, to my mind is the better, more entertaining and challenging of the two nines.

The 10th is a medium length par 4 continuing southwestward.  The tee shot is uphill to a semi blind plateau.  The view of the preferred line up the right side is blocked by an intimidating bunker and sand wall.




The green is angled to the line of play and offset into small dunes to the left.  Second shots from the left side or middle face a difficult shot over a fronting bunker left that continues around behind the green.  A second shot from the right side of the fairway provides a better angle to the green.




The nature of the fronting bunker can be seen from closer in.




Looking back from behind the green left, the difficulty of approaching a back left pin position are evident.

[Bryan Izatt]

The medium length par 5 11th continues southwest, snaking its way between dunes to the left and a drop off to a tidal channel on the right.  The tee shot angle to the fairway becomes more oblique the further back you go on the tees.  For long hitters trying to get home in two, the right side provides the shortest route with the best angle for the second shot.  However, there is a nest of hairy bunkers on the right that can't be carried and will be penal if your ball is in them.




From the more forward tees the tee shot is fairly straight forward.




The second shot provides a lot of options.  A layup to a favorite distance will be best for most.  Trying to get home in two will be difficult because of the surrounding hazards.




The nest of bunkers that are to be avoided.




A closer in look from the left side of the approach to the green, including an ugly bump of a bunker in the middle of the fairway, presumably meant to make running a second shot into the green perilous.




From behind the green showing the closely mowed runoffs that also serve to protect the green.